Thursday, June 23, 2016

When I was in middle school, there was a talented and artistic "upperclassman" (eight grader) whom I admired from afar. Everything she touched with her paint brush turned into a beautiful masterpiece. Her work had meaning and substance. I silently kept notes on how she operated and I observed how she performed her craft. She seemed out of my league and I was pretty sure I was non-existent in her world. Mid-year, our school held an art show. I looked for opportunities to be involved with anything having to do with art and so I volunteered to help hang the wall gallery, including some of her work. During the show, she approached me and inquired if I'd had involvement in setting up the display. I nervously nodded yes. "I love how you set up the gallery," she said.

In my mind, it was the equivalent of winning an academy award. Ok, maybe that's overly dramatic. But my point is, I was so thrilled to have that praise from someone I admired so much that I was filled with dancing butterflies inside my tummy. Really, I was thinking, "Wow, that's pretty neat."

Yesterday I had a similar moment of "wow, that's pretty neat" when I learned that Julianne Taylor (Creative Director + Founder of Taylor Burke Home) gave lil' ole Vivid Hue Home a mention in her DesignHer book that she released earlier this year.

Photo Courtesy of DesignHER and Taylor Burke Home

Julianne is a sweet Southern gal from South Carolina who spent almost a decade living abroad and further enriching her interior design knowledge. This experience inspired her to establish Taylor Burke Home, a modern and luxury furniture brand company. During my years as "just a home decor blogger," I kept tabs on the Taylor Burke brand through social media. When I opened the Vivid Hue Home retail shop, I knew immediately I wanted to bring Taylor Burke Home to my area of Connecticut.

Earlier this year, Julianne released a truly inspiring design book called DesignHER which highlights 35 female entrepreneurs that are shaping today's home decor industry. Each have launched their own businesses and pursued their true passions in design and are making quite a statement in the design arena. The book celebrates many of the designers that we offer in our shop and have become friends with including Roxy's Society Social and Mary Catherine's Cotton + Quill. and Meg's Meg Braff Designs.

As a side story, ya'll know that I have long been a fan of Meg Braff and her incredible wallpaper designs. I have used her Up In a Tree in my mudroom, her Roxy in Navy in my daughter's room and her Vintage Trellis in the Vivid Hue Home shop.

So where do I fit in? Well I don't want to steal the spotlight from these talented ladies, but I do want to share my butterflies-in-my-tummy- that's so cool moment.

Yesterday one of my fabulous clients (S.C) brought to my attention that our shop gets a mention in Julianne Taylor's DesignHER book under Meg Braff's feature!

Photo Courtesy of Sheila Casey

"I can recall seeing Meg Braff published in every magazine under the sun for as long as I can remember. Then the gorgeous green trellis wallpaper installed in the Farmington, Connecticut retail store, Vivid Hue Home, alerted me to the extent of her talents. A beautiful photo of our Kings Grant Chairs in ebony with zebra print cowhide placed in front of Braff's wallpaper was Instagrammed across the universe. It has me gasping."

- Julianne Taylor, Taylor Burke Home

Here is the photo that Julianne was referencing:

Photo Courtesy of Vivid Hue Home

There is a funny backstory about the Meg Braff install in the shop. Our cottage is an historical building and the land lord made it expressly clear that I needed to maintain the integrity of the shop in the same state as how I inherited it. The trouble was, the walls were a non-historical knotty pine and there was no easy way I could envision selling my colorful products within their confines. I had to get creative with hanging the paper. Here's the rest of the story about the evolution of the Meg Braff wallpaper here.

Thank you, Julianne, for your sweet nod to Vivid Hue Home in your book. Though I know the props really go towards Meg Braff for her brilliant designs, I am thrilled to have the mention. In my mind, "it's pretty neat." So thank you.

And for those of you that would like to delve into the DesignHER book in more detail, of course I am carrying it in my shop. You can also purchase on Amazon or directly from Taylor Burke Home.